Virat Kohli’s solidity has made him the chase master, not his striking ability, believes Ajay Jadeja
Virat Kohli batted maturely against Australia in the third T20I.
|(BCCI)
Ajay Jadeja has heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying the latter's stable presence in the middle has helped him to evolve as a chase master, instead of his ability to hit the ball cleanly. Kohli scored a crucial 48-ball 63 against Australia in the series decider, where India successfully chased 187.
Virat Kohli has been in excellent form since the start of the Asia Cup. The former India captain aggregated 276 runs at an average of 92 and at an impressive strike rate in the tournament and continued his good form in the recent Australia T20I series. There in the decider, Kohli's sublime 48-ball 63, coupled with Suryakumar Yadav's 36-ball 69, helped India chase down a challenging target of 187 in the final over.
However, this is nothing new for Kohli, who loves more to chase down any target in any format than scoring big in the first innings. Former India player Ajay Jadeja reckons Kohli's self-belief, as well as his stability at the crease, has helped him get the tag of being the 'chase-master'. Jadeja also remarked Kohli knows the pace of any game quite well, and that has helped him to evolve even more special batter.
"I mean that's the key to Indian cricket. I mean it's been that for a while, for a long time. I mean there was a period where Virat Kohli would score runs and if there was anything, MS Dhoni would finish it off at the end," Jadeja said on Cricbuzz.
"But now with the personnel changing around Virat Kohli, it's made it easier for him and it's made it easier for everyone else around him to play at a whole different ball game and the solidity that Virat Kohli provides, and for me, it's always been the solidity of Virat Kohli, not the striking ability. That's why he was a chase master. He is a chase master. He understands the pace of the game."
Further, Jadeja highlighted how Kohli's consistency over the last 14-15 years is his most precious asset.
"He may not have the striking ability that a lot of players have around the world and in that Indian team but there is no one else that I know who has the consistency of Virat Kohli. So if consistency is what you want, this is your man and he's not shown it today, he's been showing it to you for 10, 12, 15 years. It's just that when you expect him to do what the others do, that's when the trouble begins," he concluded.
